Thomas Glasgow: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Arlington HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Arlington Heights Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 45Family: Married, three Children: Alexis, Trevor, ClaudiaOccupation: AttorneyEducation: BA History, University of Mississippi, 1990 JD Chicago-Kent College of Law, 1994Civic involvement: Local Civic Involvement Former Chairman Pro-Tem Northwest Water Commission; Former Treasurer Cook County Northwest Water Commission; Former Chairman Arlington Heights Zoning Board of Appeals; Presidents Circle Northwest Community Hospital; Northwest Community Hospital Foundation; Steering Committee Metropolis Performing Arts Center; Marquee Member - Metropolis Performing Arts Center; Northwest Suburban Bar Association Board of Governors Past Member; Northwest Suburban Bar Association Judge's Night Committee Chair; AHYAA Coach Legal Civic Involvement U.S. Department of Justice United States Attorney Central District of Illinois Health Care Fraud Committee - Past Member; Former Assistant State's Attorney - Cook County; Northwest Suburban Bar Association Nominating Committee, Co-Chairman: Judges Night, Judicial Evaluation Committee, Holiday Party Committee; Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Instructor, Health Care Investigator Training, Illinois Department of Professional Regulation Bar Admissions: U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois U.S. District Court Northern District of Illinois Trial Bar U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois U.S. District Court Central District of Illinois Trial Bar U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois U.S. District Court Southern District of Illinois Trial Bar State of Illinois State of Illinois Capital Litigation Trial BarElected offices held: Trustee, Village of Arlington Heights, 2009-PresentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining the exceptional level of Public Safety we have in our community.Key Issue 2 Maintaining the Fiscal Responsibility that the People of Arlington Heights have come to expect from their government.Key Issue 3 Maintaining and refining a pro business attitude that balances the desires of businesses with the needs of the residents.Questions Answers Talk about your position on term limits for municipal elected officials, and explain why you support or do not support them.I am not in favor of term limits for municipal elected officials for three reasons: 1) Term limits tend to shift the power away from elected officials into the hands of non elected government officials; 2) Term limits discourage positive long term decision making policies from elected officials; and 3) Term limits take away effective long term policy interaction with other municipalities, the State and Federal government. In my tenure in State, County and Municipal government, I have had the opportunity to be involved with municipal governments that had imposed term limits. In each of those governmental entities, it became apparent that term limits imposed by the voters of that district created several problems. First, term limits tended to shift the power away from elected officials into the hands of non elected government officials. In the municipalities where term limits had been imposed, the inexperience of the elected officials created a situation where they were overly dependent upon the unelected municipal officials for their direction and advice upon any given issue. Village Managers, Department Heads and other staff who did not answer to the public led the board in a direction that they saw fit as opposed to the elected officials making policy for the public and effectively questioning the officials based on their collective experience. Public Administrators should administer policy, not set it. Secondly, term limits discourage positive long term decision making policies from elected officials. In some municipalities where term limits have been imposed, I see a distinct predilection to kick the can down the road on important issues. For example, in one community, I watched board members vote to borrow money to solve a short term problem that created a profound financial liability for a subsequent board that hampered them from providing basic governmental services in the municipality. If term limits had not been imposed in this particular community, the elected officials would have been forced to look at the long term effects of their decisions. Lastly, term limits take away effective long term policy interaction with other municipalities and in advocating for the municipality with State and Federal government officials. I have watched appointed and public officials state that all they had to do to avoid an issue with a certain elected official who had term limits was to stall things out until the elected official's term expired. The Citizens of Arlington Heights always have the opportunity for change every two years. We are blessed with an incredibly smart and responsible electorate in this Village. We have also been blessed with dedicated and responsible public servants who have given many years of their time and personal lives to serve on the Village board. The primary argument for term limits is change and fresh ideas. There are currently no term limits in the Village of Arlington Heights, but in the past 6 years, there has been substantial turnover on the Village board. We have had 4 new Trustees who have brought new ideas and new experiences with them to the Village discussion. This effective mix of old and new allows the board to retain the institutional memory and experience of government while entertaining fresh ideas that allow us to look at things from a new perspective. The voters can always institute term limits if that is their desire. The people should always be free to change or amend the form of government they live under. Any change should be fully discussed in the public and the pros and cons weighed to limit the possibility of unintended consequences from a decision that is not fully weighed.What is your position on housing for the mentally ill in Arlington Heights? Would you ever support it in a residential area, or only in an industrial or commercial area?I support housing for the mentally ill in Arlington Heights. The term mentally ill has certain negative connotations that evokes fear in people unfamiliar with the subject. It is important for the public to understand that the term "mental illness" encompasses a vast number of diagnosis and that people with these diagnosis are neither harmful to themselves or others. According to studies, approximately 1 in 4 adults over the age of 18 have a diagnosable mental health or disability. Having worked extensively over the years with people from every socio economic level who suffer from mental health and disabilities, I realize the positive impact treatment and acceptance of the disability has on the individual and society as a whole. "Mental Illness" is a disability no one chooses to have. It is a disability no different than blindness or a congenital deformity and better efforts need to be made by the community to recognize and assist those with mental health or disability issues. I don't think location is the deciding factor, but the size, scope, and location of the project are issues that must be considered by any municipality in deciding if a project is acceptable. Not every site, whether industrial, commercial or residential may provide the appropriate setting for people suffering from mental health or disabilities. It is something that has to be decided on a case by case basis as it is presented to the board.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of the village's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Right now, the level of local sales tax is appropriate for the needs of the Citizens of and businesses of Arlington Heights. The Citizens of Arlington Heights and businesses have come to demand the quality and level of services that their government provides. The Village has various ways to fund those services, such as property, sales, and utility taxes. The Village government could elect to have no sales tax at all and place the burden solely on our property owners by levying a high property tax, but I do not feel that this would be fair to property owners and would not do away with sales tax since the majority of the sales tax customers pay goes to the State of Illinois and Cook County. Currently, Food Drug sales tax is 2.25%; Auto Sales tax is 8%; Prepared Foods tax is 10.50%; and all other sales taxes are 9.25%. Of these numbers, Arlington Heights only takes 1% for our home rule sales tax. Our current sales tax level allows businesses to be competitive with the surrounding area and doesn't put them at a disadvantage. Our sales tax is comparable to all the surrounding municipalities and to understand the contribution sales tax makes to fund Village services, the Village of Arlington Heights Budget was $134.8 million (Fiscal Year 2011-2012) Sales Tax Receipts for that period Jan-Dec 2010 were $9.9 million of that budget. I feel that the current sales tax levels are an appropriate sharing of the tax burden between the village businesses and the property owners.What are the village's biggest public safety concerns? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.The Citizens of Arlington Heights have always enjoyed the benefit of safety and security in our Village. We are blessed with an outstanding police department with dedicated officers. The Village's biggest public safety concern is currently the state of our police building. The quality of this building has a direct effect of the ability of our police to conduct their primary mission, ensuring the safety and security of the Citizens of the Village. The current building was constructed in the 1980s. At the time, it was state of the art, but now in 2013, it is not able to meet the needs of a 21st century police force. To put this in perspective, in the 1980s DNA was not even available, interrogations and confessions were not videoed, forensic sciences such as we see in CSI were in their infancy, computers were only used by NASA scientists, and domestic violence issues were considered squabbles that rarely ended up with an arrest. Police were issued a car, a shotgun, and a radio and told to go patrol the street. Today, 30 years later, policing has changed significantly. DNA is the gold standard for solving crimes. Videos of interrogations and confessions are required by law in some crimes. Forensic sciences now can determine which gun a bullet was fired from, that hair and fiber match those of a given suspect, and can pick up even trace amounts of DNA from something as innocuous as the rim of a gatorade bottle left at the scene of a crime. Computers are not just things out of science fiction, but are used for everything from word processing, to background research, to comparing fingerprints and getting criminal histories. Officers now have to transfer dufflebags of equipment with them when they go out on duty to be prepared for the demands of serving the public. The current building has none of these necessities for modern policing and protection of the public. Additionally, there is not an adequate gun range for our officers to stay proficient with high powered weapons, because of its design, the prisoner lock up presents dangers to those officers guarding the prisoners, and anyone entering the waiting area of the building can plainly see the obvious problems of having the family of a suspect and the victims and their families in the same area. It is a testament to our officers that they continue to provide the level of service they do under such demanding conditions. I consistently hear the Judges compliment the quality of our officer's work. We each should be proud that they continue to strive to be the best under the adversity they work under each day. The police of our Village cannot be hamstrung in their ability to provide the level of service we expect as citizens. We have a window of opportunity due to retiring bonds to obtain the financing for the Police station without a change to our residents' taxes. If we do not act in this window of opportunity to obtain a new police station, the long term public safety of the Citizen's of this Village may be diminished.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?During my tenure as a Village Trustee, we have made some very hard decisions regarding the budget and financial health of the Village. During that time, we have cut the staff by 10% and made deep cuts in the budget across the board. We have been financially prudent and yet still maintained healthy reserves for the people that give us access to money for public expenditures in emergencies and benefits the public in the form of outstanding bond ratings. Pensions are the biggest issue affecting most municipalities and is the most obvious place that the budget can be trimmed, but unfortunately that is an issue that is decided on the State level and not the local one. If pensions can be kept in check by the State, then the budget would be far more manageable. As of right now, general funding levels are appropriate for the times. We are beginning the budgetary process for the next year and will soon have the staff's proposed budget. I would like to see more money be allocated for the Metropolis as I feel that it is an economic engine that benefits businesses throughout the Village. Last year, the Metropolis had a significant impact on the businesses in the area, creating jobs, driving sales, and bestowing our Village with the arts. It is a vital part of this community and our support for it should remain strong.